The implementation of a quality management system based on the norm ISO 9001 standard has many benefits, that’s why more and more companies have chosen to implement them.
It’s common that within organizations the objective is to obtain ISO 9001 certification and that they choose to carry out the implementation of the management system internally at the request of top management.
On this occasion I want to give you 5 keys so that you can carry out the correct implementation of a quality management system based on the norm ISO 9001 standard and that can also be used to implement any ISO standard and thus obtain any certification in your company.
1- Get the full support of top management.
This is essential for any project within a company but more so when the objective is as big as obtaining an ISO certification where everyone involved must spend time preparing documentation of their processes and may even see it as extra work .
You must fully trust that if any member of the team is delayed or doesn’t commit to the activities of the quality management system there will be serious consequences for them and thus the project of implementation of the ISO standard will not be adversely affected.
2- Form an implementation team
This team should be made up of the leaders of each process (area or department) of the company, including the general manager. With them you will carry out the definition of the key performance indicators or KPI’s, development of work procedures, applicable records, etc.
The project will be focused on working 80% with this team and the remaining 20% ​​will be dedicated to the training of all the remaining personnel.
Make sure that this team is fully convinced of the project because it will be your greatest ally to make the correct implementation of the norm ISO 9001 and achieve continuous improvement until achieving ISO certification.
3- Develop a schedule
This schedule should cover all stages of the project in a general way, from initial awareness training for all staff to internal audit and finally ISO certification.
Additionally, make individual schedules per stage in a detailed way, where each member of the team can see perfectly how and when they will participate in the project.
Distribute these schedules with a good margin of time to the team so they can make adequate programming of their activities, including those of the ISO 9001 quality management system.
4- Develop all the documentation together with those in charge
This point is very important, all ISO management systems require documentation of each process, be it work procedures, instructions, operation records, etc. and generally the process leaders are going to tell you that they don’t have time to carry them out and they will want to give you the responsibility of preparing all their documentation.
It is important to understand that the first thing that is sought in ISO standards is the standardization of processes, or in other words, that all activities are carried out in the same way always to obtain the same result. For this, each leader must commit to carrying out all the activities mentioned in their work procedures and instructions.
It is difficult for this commitment to occur when the documentation was made by someone else (that is, you), so it will be easy for them to blame you that the activities are not well described, and even worse, all the responsibility for changes to the documentation as well will be your responsibility and thus the correct implementation of ISO 9001 will not be achieved.
5- Hold weekly follow-up meetings
You must maintain a good rhythm in the progress of the project and do not allow the participants to relax, it’s recommended that you work with each responsible weekly. This way you give them enough time to perform the tasks you assigned to them and if something goes wrong you can quickly correct it.
For example, when you are in the documentation preparation stage, you can work with those responsible for five processes individually for one hour with each one every Tuesday for four Tuesdays in a row and when you finish you continue with another five processes for another four Tuesdays and so on until you finish. with all processes.
Once you have started your ISO quality management system, you can switch to monthly meetings to review the key performance indicators or KPI’s.
One more advice…
Leaning on specialized software in the administration of ISO management systems can help you a lot in your project, since you will carry out the internal audit, document control, management of corrective actions, etc. efficiently and electronically, bringing you a few steps closer to the ISO certification you want.
